Why So Jaded?
by Aggressively Hospitable
Summary: A decade after the movie, Syndrome and Invisigirl meet face to face in a rather interesting circumstances, a heist.
1. Thief

Why So Jaded?

Syndrome tried to take a calming breath as he continued to work the safe, inside was gold and jewels and other things he could care less about. But in the far corner, in an unassuming box was the nanochip to end all nanochips. It would give Syntech all the edge it would ever need on the market.

"I figured I would find you here," Invisigirl accused as she dropped her invisibility, she leaned her back against the wall next to the safe and folded her arms, watching him closely while putting on an air of amused disinterest.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that Invisigirl," Syndrome chastised as he stopped for a moment, seeing if she was going to stop him. In a decade she had gone from little girl to fully realized Super but she wasn't always walking in her parent's footsteps, in fact very few people even knew where she really stood on the Super/Villain line. Besides, she wasn't even supposed to be here, she was supposed to be half a world away. He would have to fire his trackers, they were completely useless now.

"Actually you technically sneaked up on me, I've been here the whole time, and that thing you do with your tongue when you're really concentrating is kinda cute," Invisigirl countered in dry sarcasm as she examined her gloves, looking for imperfections.

Syndrome took that as a sign that she wasn't going to stop him so he continued working the dial, trying to crack the safe.

"You know, I never thought you would ever be the kind of guy who would do his own dirty work," Invisigirl started as she looked at him, refolding her arms across her chest. "It sounds like you haven't tried to crack a safe in about 20 years, are you even trying to break it or will you keep twisting that thing until your fingers fall off?" Invisigirl teased.

"I don't suppose you know the combination?" Syndrome drawled, getting annoyed.

"Of course I do, the combination is your birthday, the creator is a big fan of yours, but I'm sure if you simply asked him for the nanochip, he would have given it to you rather than stealing it from him," Invisigirl answered.

"I didn't know your boyfriend was the sharing type," Syndrome quiped as he turned the dial with deft fingers, opening it now with ease. Invisigirl snorted a laugh and shook her head.

"Well at least my cover is intact," She alluded as she pushed off the wall and stretched a bit. "By the way it's the box on the left, not the right," She added as she began to walk away.

"Wait a minute, you're just going to let me get away with this?"

"Yeah, it's not my fault you broke in on my vacation when I'm supposed to be in..Barcelona? Madrid? Is that where your goons think I am? By the way, you need to get new ones, they don't blend in at all and their loyalty is flimsy at best, they report to HIM before they ever report to you." Invisigirl divulged as she continued to lazily walk away.

Syndrome narrowed his eyes at the contents of the safe, it would be something he would deal with later. "Wait, so he's not your boyfriend?" Syndrome inquired as he stowed the nanochip safely away and locked the safe up again before catching up to her and walking beside her for a bit.

Invisigirl gave him a side glance. "Not even close, he has a thing for plastic model types, uses them faster than Kleenex," Invisigirl answered flippantly before turning a corner and opening a door to an office and walking over to the window, opening it and getting ready to jump out.  
"You're jumping?" Syndrome inquired knowing that his exit route was eerily similar.

"Again. Not even close," Invisigirl coolly replied as she tapped on her ear, a sliding door to a small hover craft opened. "You don't think I'm the only thing capable of disappearing are you? I would offer you a ride but, something tells me you already have one, see you around Syndrome," Invisigirl cooed as she hopped from the window sill to the waiting door before it closed and vanished again. Syndrome could hear it fly away and felt his stomach collect a few butterflies. Jaded Invisigirl was a sexy Invisigirl and she knew it. Perhaps he would pay her a more personal visit soon.

* * *

_Author's notes- This is an unbetaed thing that was prompted by something on tumblr and I thought I would just share it here. Let me know if you want to read more or if I should just stop it here. _


	2. Contracts

Why So Jaded?

Chapter 1

A decade can be a long time. That much time can change a person, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

A decade ago, Syndrome had built an empire fueled by his hatred for Supers and more importantly Mr. Incredible. He had become successful, powerful, on a scale beyond imagination. His creations helped topple governments, weaponize vast armies and made him more money then he could ever hope to spend.

A decade ago, Violet Parr was coming to terms with her powers, was coming into her own and finding her footing in life. She was learning to bear the load that all Supers carry.

But a decade can be a long time. In a decade, you can see the empire you built be turned against you before it's dismantled into pieces that can never be put back together again.

In a decade you can see things that make you question yourself, your morals, your loyalties. Make you resent the burden placed on you by your parents, by your siblings, your superiors, by everyone around you. Until you realize you don't have to play by their rules, in fact, you don't have to play their little game at all.

That's where Violet found herself. Not necessarily at a crossroads, but simply a spot on a map. She had been pulled back into this Super world but it was supposed to be her last job. It was supposed to be an easy one, a babysitter post for a billionaire that had taken Syndrome's place in the weaponized technology field. His name was Phillip Sebastian and he had asked for Violet in particular. He was willing to pay her 15 times more for her services than he would have offered anyone else. That's why Violet could easily retire after this job and why she didn't think twice about taking it in the first place.

Before now, she had disappeared in Hong Kong, with a large city of over seven million, it was easy to disappear into. She figured her superiors spent at least a million trying to find her and once they did, they made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She would retire at the age of 23 into a very comfortable life, probably settle down, get married and all that jazz. But even she had to admit, the urge to do something was getting to her, it was an itch that most Supers, even when under ban, was impossible not to scratch, her father was living proof of that. But she had learned from her parent's mistakes. She had learned to be careful. But being careful and playing it safe, while inherently easy for her, was getting boring. She had taken up a few hobbies, learned a few languages along with some invaluable skills so that she could, in theory, go anywhere and support herself.

Invisigirl taped on a screen as she flew her secret spy plane back to Spain to contact her employer, Mr. Sebastian.

"Do you have a report Invisigirl?" Mr. Sebastian asked.

"Yes, Syndrome himself has taken the nanochip, just like you predicted. I'm now en route to you." Invisigirl answered.

"What are the chances that he will follow?" Mr. Sebastian furthered.

"At this point, medium to high." Invisigirl estimated with a shrug as she achieved the proper altitude for a transatlantic flight.

"Excellent. Well we have him on camera, so he's as good as ours anyway."

"So hopefully that objective can be fulfilled sooner than later," Invisigirl assumed.

"We will talk about that when you get back, see you in three hours."

"Understood, Invisigirl out," Invisigirl said as she closed the channel and set the plane to auto pilot. She had to get changed into civilian attire and hopefully get a chance to relax before she would have to play babysitter.

Meanwhile Syndrome had made his escape and was thinking about tracking Invisigirl down, it wouldn't be difficult, as long as his Intel was good. Syndrome arrived back at his compound, a different island this time since the 'authorities' literally blew up the last one. But while Syndrome was getting a bit desperate, he wasn't stupid. He installed the nanochip into an ordinary laptop that wasn't connected in any way to the internet in case there was some kind of signal embedded. Fifteen seconds later he found himself staring at a practically melting piece of trash.

"And that's why we don't just hook things up into the system." Syndrome muttered as he retrieved the other nano chip, the one that was on the left, he had taken both, just in case she was leading him astray. He picked up the dead computer and simply dumped it into the trash and retrieved another, turning it on and repeating the process. This time, it worked perfectly. "Well, it appears you didn't steer me wrong, this time," Syndrome mused as he retrieved the nano chip and put it into his system. Since the 'incident' aka him almost being shredded by a jet engine, his ability to create new technology had been hindered greatly. But he could reverse engineer anything and make it better, and that was his intention now. Once he had all the specs down it would be difficult to put the nanochip back but not impossible.

Except when he came back, it was a trap. The moment he opened that safe, there were more guards on him than he could count. He was immediately detained in a holding cell in the basement of the building.

Syndrome wondered who would be coming, would it be the local police? The FBI? The CIA? He ended up waiting untill the next day when Phillip Sebastian came in himself.

"Good morning Mr. Pine," Phillip greeted formally.

"Good morning Mr. Sebastian," Syndrome repeated warily.

"Mr. Pine, you are either really smart or really stupid, you had the nanochip, why didn't you just keep it? Why risk putting it back?"

"I need a lawyer," Syndrome answered.

"Why? You're not under arrest, the authorities haven't been called, however if you don't cooperate I would be forced to contact them but for now, let's leave them out of this." Phillip said dismissively.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to work for me, not against me."

"I refuse to work for anyone but myself." Syndrome defied.

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider? You would have your own lab and assistants and an unlimited budget, you could set your own hours and salary and have access to all the compounds and technology you could ever dream of." Phillip proposed. "You would even earn a high percentage of all sales of whatever you create."

"So what's the catch?"

"You will have to work for me for a minimum of 2 years. You will stay on campus at all times unless accompanied by a security detail and every waking moment you will be monitored." Phillip informed him solemnly. "So it's either this or some high security prison for 20-life. Because the evidence against you is pretty damning."

"Can you give me some time to think it over?" Syndrome inquired.

"Of course, take all the time you need, simply knock on the door when you've made a decision." Phillip replied as he got up and left the room before one of the walls moved away to reveal a toilet and a bed.

Three hours later Syndrome knocked on the door and a few minutes later Phillip came in, ready to hear his answer.

"I'll do it, however I have a few conditions of my own." Syndrome started and was pleased to see Phillip nod.

"I want everything in writing, I want my criminal record expunged."

"Of course, my lawyers are writing our contract up as we speak and your criminal record will be dissolved within the hour. Anything else?"

"I will only work for you for two years, no more,"

"Agreed." Phillip said as he held out his hand for a handshake. Syndrome took it and shook firmly. And the two left the room and walked to an elevator where a secretary was waiting to greet them.  
"Everything is ready Mr. Sebastian, the notary is already in conference room 12A."  
"Excellent, thank you Ms. Parr," Phillip replied in thanks before turning to Syndrome. "Mr. Pine, I believe you already know my colleague Violet Parr." Phillip gestured before getting on the elevator.

Syndrome had to do a double take, he hadn't recognized her, she was standing right in front of him and she might as well have been invisible.

"Yes, we are already too well acquainted," Violet answered as she stepped on the elevator herself, standing on one side of Phillip, using him like a shield between her and Syndrome.

"Well I don't know about that," Syndrome answered with a smirk. He could feel static electricity instantly build within the elevator.

"Easy," Phillip warned Violet, his tone surprisingly gentle. Violet exhaled in a huff and Syndrome felt static electricity lull, the rest of the ride was in silence until they reached the twelfth floor.

Violet led the way to the conference room, she tapped her ID card against a reader and the door opened, revealing a notary and two lawyers sitting at the table in the middle of the room.

Syndrome wasn't an idiot, he read each and every single line on those contracts before signing them. It took four hours.

Violet looked like she wanted to die of boredom and couldn't get out of there fast enough. Another assistant came to escort Syndrome to his new 'apartment' while Phillip and Violet retreated to Phillips office.

"Well I am so glad that didn't take too long," Violet drawled sarcastically as she crashed on the comfy couch in his office. Phillip chuckled as he tossed her a bottle of water from his mini fridge in his desk.

"He's still smart, he wanted to make sure I wasn't taking him for a complete fool," Phillip countered as he took a long pull from his own water bottle.

"Do you think he'll honor the contract? Or do you think he'll run the first chance he gets?" Violet inquired.

"Oh I think as long as you're around, he'll stay here. He looked at you at least a dozen times," Phillip began as he glanced at Violet who had rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Speaking of which, I have a new assignment for you, I want you to be the liaison between him and I until the end of your contract."

"Hell no," Violet immediately spat.

"Oh come on, all that means is you see him once a day for only a few minutes, make sure he has everything he needs to keep him focused and relay messages back and fourth,"

"That's what email is for." Violet retorted.

"But email is so impersonal,"

"That's exactly it, I don't want to have to deal with him any more than I absolutely have to. He did try to kill me and my family and kidnap my brother...,"

"And take over the world, yeah I know, I was there but that was a lifetime ago, clearly everyone involved has changed. I mean you saw him, the man is just one failed attempt away from completely imploding. And the fact that he was desperate enough to steal from me _himself _says a lot."

"I still don't understand why he would stoop that low," Violet admitted.

"I think he lost a spark," Phillip conjectured. Violet raised a curious brow at his choice of words. "Writers and artists have muses, engineers have sparks." Phillip explained.

"But if he's lost his spark, he's no good to you, it's been a decade, surely if he was going to get his 'spark' back, don't you think he would have gotten it back by now?"

"He's searching for it, pretty hard, I've been keeping him under surveillance for the last 5 five years, a man can only tinker so long."

"So he's either going to find it with you or die trying," Violet guessed.

"Exactly," Phillip answered with a wink.

"Wow, if I didn't know any better I would think you were an evil mastermind," Violet teased with a chuckle.

"Keep it to yourself, Edna hasn't finished my supersuit yet," Phillip countered, causing Violet to glare at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Phillip playcated.

"You better be, ass," Violet grumbled.

"So will you take the job or not?" Phillip asked.

"You're going to have to up my salary again, make it worth my while."

"How about I give you a percentage of whatever he works on."

"Ten percent," Violet started.

"Three," Phillip countered.

"Five," Violet rebuttled.

"Deal," Phillip agreed. "And you start now,"

"Fine," Violet groaned. "And I want it in writing by the time I get back."

"Of course,"

"And you still owe me dinner." Violet reminded him before taking a tablet and a spare phone with her as she left his office and made her way to Syndrome's floor. She thought it was ridiculous that he would have more than a bed and a lab let alone an entire floor full of equipment.

She came into the lab to see him already at work. She knocked on a counter top to make her presence known so as not to startle him.

"How come you couldn't do that before?" He asked wryly.

"Because you weren't supposed to know I was there. We have a few details we need to discus Mr. Pine." Violet began as she watched him pause and turn to face her to give her his complete attention. "First, you are never to address me as anything other than Ms. Parr and you will always conduct yourself in the utmost professional manner when dealing with me or any other employee of SEB Industries. I am your liaison to Mr. Sebastian himself so if you have anything in particular that you need regarding your living and your work you can tell me. These are yours," Violet stated as she held up the phone and the Ipad. "My number is under speed dial one. While at SEB Industries we suggest little to no contact with the outside world however we do understand that there are certain 'needs' that only the outside world can satisfy." Violet explained as she laid them down on the counter. "Now, is there anything in particular you need or want? Perhaps lunch?"

"Lunch sounds great, as long as you will eat it with me," Buddy answered.

"Unfortunately I have prior engagements, but you do have access to a full kitchen that should be well stocked, and if it is lacking feel free to create a grocery list and I will have an assistant fulfill it. We also allow take out to be delivered although anything you receive will be subjected to inspection and scans. Do you understand?"

"Yes,"

"Do you have any questions?" Violet obligitorily asked.

"Are you free for dinner?" Buddy asked.

"Good day Mr. Pine, good luck with your work," Violet coldly replied before turning and leaving.

Buddy smirked and went back to work. His own plan was working well.


	3. Always Watching

Why So Jaded?

Chapter 2

Buddy Pine had always had more than one plan. Getting caught had been his contingency plan if the nano chip thing had backfired. But he never expected Phillip to be so accommodating or so generous, but having Violet be the liaison was the icing on the cake. Speaking of which, he hadn't been this productive since before the incident. And for the last few weeks, the hours following her visits were always the most exciting. He was finding his spark again, he even starting drafting and designing from scratch again. This was working out perfectly.

"Good morning Ms. Parr," Buddy greeted when he heard the door open at 9:00am which had been Violet's chosen time to come. He had learned to recognize her walking pattern, it was smooth and fluid yet light and precise, almost cat like.

"Good morning Mr. Pine," Violet replied. "Mr. Sebastian sends his congratulations on the nano chip redesign, it has increased workload by your projections exactly and has earned you an additional 1.4 million dollars as of today."

"Excellent, what else?" Buddy inquired, knowing Violet preferred to lead with good news before delivering the bad.

"Mr. Sebastian now has 5 new projects to add to your ever increasing roster." Violet informed him as she rubbed her temple with her spare hand.

"You ok?" Buddy inquired as he watched her thoughtfully.

"Yeah, just a bad headache," Violet answered dismissively. "Now Mr. Sebastian wants to know exactly how much titanium alloy you will need for the VIC project? And what tensile strength will you need to have the silicon wafers at?"

"I'm going to have to look over my calculations again and I'll shoot you an email with the specifics. How long have you had the headache?"

"Why does my headache matter? It's a headache, it will go away eventually and with enough Advil." Violet defended, her irritation clear in the way she seemed to snap at him.

"Supers don't usually just get headaches that can be cleared up with over the counter pain killers, they usually need something stronger, especially with your skill set as a super, you're more likely to have inflammation in the central cortex." Buddy explained before looking up to see a practically seething Violet, he was at a loss as to why before it dawned on him of how he would know something like that. He could see it in her eyes, they burned a luminescent shade of violet. He could see that she wanted to kill him.

Violet was livid, how dare he have the audacity to speak of such things. She wanted to know how many supers he had lured to their deaths, how many had he interrogated or tortured and experimented on for his research before zeroing in on her family. She wanted to beat those answers out of him. She struggled not to do just that, she struggled to keep herself composed before she had to pull her rage back and put an emotionally void mask to her facial features.

"If you have anything else you need for your work, you can contact my assistant." Violet managed to bite out before turning and leaving quickly. She leaned against the elevator wall once the doors closed and tried her best not to have a panic attack. These headaches were getting out of hand and were wearing her down and she cursed herself for having such an obvious and light trigger that he seemed to know exactly how to set off. She barely managed to make it to her own office to her safe room before she broke down and cried, an instinctual forcefield encompassing her like a security blanket. How could she keep acting like none of it happened and he was just another one of Phillips colleagues?

Back in the lab Buddy was kicking himself for not seeing how that could have backfired. And for the first time there was something added to his guilt, shame.

Meanwhile Phillip who was watching and listening to the conversation via security cameras was practically running to Violet's office. He knew this was bound to happen and he had to make sure she would be ok. He got to her office and went straight to the safe room he had specifically built for her. He keyed in his code and the book shelf concealing the safe room moved away to reveal Violet sitting down and curled up, he could see she was shaking but he knew better than to try and touch her now, the forcefield around her would keep him from physically touching her, he couldn't hear her because the forcefield kept any noise she was making inside and would thus make talking to her impossible until she took it down. But what he could do is sit as close to her as possible and wait for her to notice him there.

After a moment she did look up to see him there and let down the forcefield before he crawled to her and put his arm around her shoulders and held her close.

"I'm sorry," He whispered into her hair as she continued to sniffle into his shoulder.

"How did he know? How does he know shit like that? He shouldn't know that, especially about me," Violet cried.

"I don't know, but I'll find out ok? It's going to be ok, I promise, where are those pills we made for you?" Phillip asked, trying to get her to look him in the eye.

"I only have 2 left, I was saving them for when it got really bad." Violet tried to explain as she buried her head deeper into his shoulder, hoping the counter pressure would give her some relief. Phillip put his arm around the upper part of her head and applied pressure, trying to help give her more relief.

"Does that help?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you Phil." Violet said in thanks as she reveled in the relief the counter pressure was providing.

"Now where are the pills? I'll make sure you have more before these wear off,"

"In my top left desk drawer." Violet answered before Phil pulled away to retrieve them and a glass of water to take them with.

"Have you been able to get any sleep lately?" He asked as he noted the dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to cover up with makeup.

"Yeah, I got a whole six hours last night," She answered.

"How much Ambian did it take to get that?"

"A hundred and twenty milligrams."

"Fuck Vi, that much should have put you in a coma."

"I know, but I just wanted to sleep so badly that I kept taking 2 tabs every hour until I finally fell asleep." Violet explained as she slowly got up and walked out of her safe room and sat in her desk chair, her safe room closing itself off on it's own.

"Vi, why didn't you tell me it was getting this bad?" Phillip asked as he leaned against her desk.

"Because there are a thousand and one other things that are more important," Violet groaned as she laid her head on the desk and waited for the pain killers to kick in, while she focused on not throwing up.

"Violet, I would not have the best doctors cooped up in a lab working 14 hour days trying to come up with the best solution possible if I didn't think that you and your health were important. Promise me that you'll tell me when things are getting bad or if things get worse."

"Ok, ok, I promise," Violet said as she steadied her breathing, the painkillers beginning to take effect.

"Thank you, now I want you to do me a favor, take a few days off, go to the spa or something and relax, read a good book and _don't use your powers_. Because the more you use them the worse this seems to get. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, I can do that, but what about Syn..Mr. Pine?" Violet asked, catching herself.

"Don't worry about it, I will deal with him personally if I have to." Phillip placated. "And you start now, I'll go down to the lab to get you your meds, just stay here."

"Deal," Violet agreed as she kicked off her heals for her feet to rest.

Phillip went down to the lab and got Violet the special pain killers that have been designed for her and checks in on the sleep aid they had been also working on for her. It was highly unusual for an employer to take such a interest in his employee but he considered this extremely special circumstances. He realized that dealing with anything having to do with Violet he did himself. It's not that he didn't trust his other secretaries and assistants but, he felt better knowing that because he handled it, it was done right.

He saw her off before going to Buddy's lab himself.

"Mr. Sebastian, I wondering when you would come and see me," Buddy remarked, despite the slight nervous edge to his voice. He had been wondering what ramifications there would be for upsetting Phillip's little 'pet'.

"Well Mr. Pine, it seems you've been busy, making exceptional hardware, offending my staff," Phillip listed off casually, but there was quiet rage to his voice that Buddy picked up on.

"I didn't mean to offend her. I just noticed she was in pain, I didn't mean to upset her," Buddy defended as Phillip took a long hard look at him.

"I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be honest. Do you have any design or intention of bringing harm in any way, shape or form to Ms. Parr?"

"Of course not," Buddy answered.

"But given your history, especially with the Parr's..."

"I know, I'm the last person who should be put anywhere close to any of them but things change," Buddy countered.

"I'm aware that you know a lot about Supers, and I know better than to ask exactly how you know..."  
"Mirage," Buddy interrupted. "Mirage had similar powers that Violet has, Mirage suffered from headaches too, whenever she used her powers, especially her invisibility. Supers are wired differently, they even have extra brain components, supers who can turn themselves invisible, tend to have larger central cortex's. It puts pressure on the rest of the brain, that's why the headaches are so intense and hard to cure." Buddy explained. "That's how I know."

"Come with me," Phillip invited as he turned and escorted Buddy two floors up to where he had the doctors working on Violet's condition.

Buddy looked over the schematics and her last MRI scans. "She's way worse that Mirage ever got, is she dying?" Buddy asked Phillip.

Phillip took a deep breath and nodded yes.

"Does she _know_ she's dying?"

"No, because we are on the verge of curing her, no use in upsetting her now," Phillip answered.

"I can fix this, I can fix her," Buddy claimed. "Give me two weeks working with these guys, give me access to my old data banks that the CIA took and I will have a cure," Buddy promised.

Phillip paused to look Buddy over before nodding again. "Ok, but you better deliver Pine." Phillip went over to a control panel and gave Buddy access to the databases containing all the research that had been confiscated from Buddy's Island the decade prior along with all the research that had been done since then, along with access to the Medical Lab he was currently in. "By the way, Violet is now on medical leave, Mrs. Tyner will be your liaison for everything until she gets back. But anything you need for this project you will tell Tyner and you keep Ms. Parr out of it. Understood?"

"Understood," Buddy agreed before turning and bringing up all his old data and instinctively taking control of the medical lab.

Phillip went back to his office and watched the security cameras in the lab and the security cameras in Violet's apartment. She most likely didn't know that he had installed them but it was the only way he could make sure she was safe. He watched her come home and crash on the couch and rest for a while. Then she got up and took out some left overs before turning on her tv and turning on netflix. That seemed to calm her down considerably. He even saw her smile and laugh. Then after that she practically stripped on her way to the bathroom. His cheeks flamed and he minimized the screen. He tried to focus back on Buddy's work but his eyes kept darting to the camera in Violet's living room that had a clear view of the bathroom door. She was clearly taking a shower and was singing, rather badly. He snorted a laugh at her choice to sing Cake 'The Distance' and getting half the lyrics wrong despite the music blaring from her Ipod. And by the sound of the spray, she was using her razor as a microphone and whipping her hair against the shower walls. Then she slowly stopped singing while she adjusted the dual shower head and then the speakers could pick up on Violet's labored breathing and the pulsating shower head. Phillip's pants became painfully tight and before he could stop himself he had pressed the security button for his office that locked the doors and shut off everything except the video and sound feed from Violet's apartment. He had unzipped his trousers and was stroking himself before Violet began to moan his name, Phillip's eyes snapped open and he froze. Did she know he could hear her? Then she did it again, this time his name came from her lips with a desperation in her voice that had him pumping himself hard. He was exhilarated that she would think about him while pleasuring herself. Then he heard that unmistakable blissful whine and then his name chanted and he exploded into his own hands.

Violet smirked in her afterglow at the video feed from the camera she had secretly installed in his desk. She knew her place was bugged but used it to her advantage. The more 'invested' he became in her, the closer she got to him and the more he would let his guard down around her. She had been trying for for the last few months to even get this close.

"God I'd bet he'd be magnificent in bed tho." Violet almost sang from the bathroom and tried not to giggle when Phillips jaw dropped as he cleaned himself up. She wistfully sighed before grinning like a Cheshire cat at the look of pure want on his face. "He types so fast too, I'll bet those fingers would know exactly how to light my fire," she purred as she turned the shower off and began to towel off. She turned off the feed from her phone before she went to the bedroom to put on underwear and a loose t shirt then going to the kitchen where she knew another camera was watching her. She pulled a pint of ice cream out of the freezer and a spoon from the drawer before hopping up on the counter and eating it straight out of the container.

"I wonder if he would bang me on the counter, or against the wall, would he like bottom or top?" She wondered aloud as she slowly and rather sensually ate her ice cream. She put her phone next to her, where she knew the cameras couldn't see and brought up the feed again. Only it was just of an empty chair, he was gone. Violet frowned and turned it off and wondered if she had jinxed it by going a little overboard, until a few minutes later when she heard Phillips unmistakable knock at the door. She tried to hide her smile as she called out for them to hold on a minute while she went in the back and threw on a robe.

She opened the door and acted surprised to see Philip standing there.

"Mr. Sebastian, is everything ok?" She asked innocently.  
"Yes, I was just checking in on you, make sure you're ok." Phillip answered, trying not to stare at her too intently.

"Yeah, just got out of the shower actually, I think everyone feels better after a good shower," Violet said as she ran her fingers through her still damp hair. "Do you want to come in? I think I have a beer or something," Violet offered as she stood back and ushered him in.

"I wouldn't want to trouble you," Phillip contested.

"No, you're fine," Violet said as she opened her fridge and dug around for a beer. Phillip tried really hard not stare at her ass as she bent over but he was a man after all and she had grown into a woman with curves for miles. Violet smirked again as she felt his eyes on her, her own plan was working out well. "I hope Guiness is ok," Violet said as she handed him the bottle before leaning against the counter to continue eating her ice cream as a sign that she was comfortable with his presence.

"Oh it's perfect, thank you," Phillip replied as he opened the bottle and started drinking.

"So anything new in the few hours I've been gone?" Violet asked, trying to break the ice more.

"No, just thought I would check up on you, you didn't seem so well when you left," Phillip repeated, more trying to convince himself more than anything as he nervously fiddled with the label on the bottle.

"Oh that's sweet of you, you didn't have to but thank you Phillip," Violet cooed, flashing him a grateful smile. Phillip returned the smile before ducking his head bashfully.

"Well I put you in this mess, it's the least I could do," Phillip muttered with a shrug. Violet smiled sweetly before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek and stayed on her tip toes so that he could look more easily into her eyes and they stayed like that for a long moment, simply staring at each other.

"You're the best," she insisted, her honest sincerity showing through. For all the things he was, he really was a great guy sometimes. She was starting to really admire him, it made her job easy yet difficult all at the same time. Then before she could blink he had put the beer down and had framed her face with his hands and started to kiss her. It was sweet and soft yet there was so much more to it. She kissed back and was rewarded with the kiss getting deepened, then she was pushed up against the counter before he slid his hands down her sides and picked her up onto the counter so he didn't have to lean down so far. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist as her hands snaked up and took hold of his hair, that magnificent, soft and luxurious hair, just how she thought it would feel. She felt his hands travel up her bare legs under her robe, his finger tips digging into her flesh as he pulls her against him tighter before his hands found her ass and he got two big handfuls as he pulled her tight against him. He broke for air but was pulling her robe away to feast on her neck. Violet gasped and moaned while she laid her head back, giving him more access while grinding against his hardend length, her underwear getting soaked from the friction.

"Vi, I need you," Phillip murmured in her ear before biting and sucking on her neck.

"I need you too, so bad," Violet whined as she took off her robe and worked on his clothing.

Phillip practically tore his clothing from his frame before stripping the clothes off of Violet but keeping her on the counter. While his mouth kept hers busy, his deft fingers were stroking her delicate folds before they sank in. Violet mewled and writhed in his hold and nearly lost her mind when he curled his fingers, his fingertips hitting her g-spot. His other hand had braced her back so she couldn't escape him although by the way she was reacting, he was willing to bet she wasn't going anywhere.

"More, I need more," Violet pleaded desperately as she started to arch her back and Phillips mouth found her heaving breasts. Phillip added another finger to stretch her and give himself more leverage as he pumped his fingers in and out, his hand becoming completely coated. She was getting so achingly close before he pulled his hand away leaving her confused and irritated before he replaced them with his aching shaft.

"Oh damn," Violet muttered, realizing he was bigger than she thought.

"Surprised?" Phillip teased as he gave her a quick thrust.

"Pleasantly," Violet answered as she fought to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head. Phillip hummed in pleasure as he took a hold of her hips and started up a tempestuous rhythm that had them both careening off the edge faster than either of them anticipated until they were both left covered in sweat and trying to catch their breath.

"We should have done this a long time ago," Violet muttered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I needed to know I could trust you first," Phillip replied.

Violet furrowed her brows together and looked up at him. "I've seen you screw hookers, strippers, dominatrix queens and the like, you're supposed to trust me with your life," Violet reminded him as she felt the afterglow leave her completely as she disentangled herself and backed away from him as much as the counter would allow.

"That's different, _this_ is different and you know it," Phillip countered.

"Really? Because I'm special?" She sarcastically quipped.

"Yes," Phillip confirmed, being completely serious. "Violet, you're the only one I would go to the ends of the earth for."

"So are willing to give up all the other girls and kinky shit that you know I'm not into so you could have a real and serious relationship with me?"

Phillip grimaced and paused.

"That's what I thought. You need to go, I'll be in on Monday," Violet quipped angrily as she pushed him back, hopped off the counter and put her robe back on while tossing his clothes at him and pushing him out of the door.

"Good day Mr. Sebastian," Violet spitefully spat before slamming the door.


	4. Trapped part 1

Why So Jaded

Chapter 3

Violet took another shower after Phillip left to wash the evidence from her body and curse herself for letting her feelings control her actions. The other girls shouldn't have mattered, if anything she could have used them as leverage later but there was something that was just so real about that moment where everything else didn't matter because it was just the two of them. And part of her really wanted to be in a real relationship with him but she had too much respect for herself to put up with other women. She was an all or nothing kind of woman when it came to her personal affairs. But separating the mission from her personal life was getting extremely difficult.

"Just a few more months, then you can disappear," She whispered in a promise to herself.

Monday morning she came into work as if nothing had happened over the weekend and it was business as usual. She came into her office and changed the password to her safe room after inspecting it for cameras and the like. She was gathering her things together and getting ready to see Mr. Pine when she, out of habit, pulled up the camera to his lab and was surprised to see he wasn't there.

"Eva, where is Mr. Pine?" She prompted the AI computer that ran SEB Industries.

"Mr. Pine is in Medical Level A in Suite 7." Eva answered.

"Why is Mr. Pine in Dr. Gjersoe's lab?" Violet asked.

"Request denied. That information is classified level 10." Eva explained.

"Under who's authority?" Violet demanded.

"Mr. Sebastian."

"Ok, do I still have access to Medical Level A, Suite 7?"

"Yes,"

"Then I will get my 'information' from the source, thank you Eva," Violet dismissed as she grabbed her things and headed down to Dr. Gjersoe's lab to confront both of them.

"Mr. Pine," Violet called out as she entered the medical suite and found both Dr. Gjersoe and Mr. Pine working on a schematic.

"Ms. Parr, I wasn't expecting to see you until next week," Buddy tried to calmly pacify.

"Why?" Violet suspiciously asked.

"Mr. Sebastian said you were on vacation," Buddy answered, figuring that wasn't an all out lie.

Violet gave him a curious look before shaking her head. "No, I won't get 'vacation' for a few more months," Violet cryptically answered. "So my question is, why are you in the medical sector?"

"Mr. Sebastian thought I would be of more use here." Buddy answered casually as he turned his attention back to the schematics.

Violet looked at what he was working on and recognized her own scans in the bottom of the display. "Well in that case, I will leave you to your work, good day Mr. Pine, Dr. Gjersoe," Violet addressed before turning and leaving.

"I thought she would ask more questions," Dr. Gjersoe admitted. "Whenever she has come in here before she does nothing but ask questions."

"Maybe when I leave she will come back and grill you," Buddy offered.

"Do not tempt fate my friend, this place is dangerous, there is always someone watching and listening,"

"I know." Buddy replied solemnly.

Meanwhile Violet was waiting for in Phillip's office for him to return from his morning board meeting. She knew she had to choose her next moves carefully.

Phillip opened the door and froze as he saw Violet's silhouette at the windows. "Violet, I didn't think you would be in till next week," Phillip said slowly as he closed the door behind him and walked over to his desk.

"That seems to be a common sentiment around here, I did say I would 'see you Monday'," Violet countered as she turned to face him.

"That's right, you did say that, right before you slammed the door in my face," Phillip recalled with an air of regret.

Violet nodded before walking over to him, her arms still crossed over her chest. "Why is Mr. Pine in the medical wing looking at my scans?" Violet asked, doing her best to keep her voice even.

Phillip paused to look her over before he noticed the static electricity levels weren't raising.

"He claimed he could cure your headaches within the next 2 weeks." Phillip answered evenly.

"So you're letting a super villain handle my medical records and learn my greatest weakness, you're letting him come up with a compound that could potentially kill me within seconds. Sounds like a great plan," Violet retorted sarcastically.

"No, I'm letting an engineer fix a major problem," Phillip replied calmly before sitting down.

"Oh that sounds much better that giving him the best possible opportunity to kill me," Violet grumbled as she sat down in the chair across from him.

"He won't kill you. I have everything under control. No harm will come to you via Mr. Pine's hands." Phillip assured.

Violet narrowed her eyes before finally nodding in acceptance. "Well, you wouldn't have involved him if you didn't think it would work right?"

"Right," Phillip confirmed. "I honestly don't believe he harbors any ill will toward you, I think he's moved on. And he's one of the most brilliant men I have working for me, if anyone could solve it, my bets are on him." Phillip furthered before gesturing for Violet to lean forward. "As bad as you're getting, we are running out of options." Phillip admitted in a low voice. Violet furrowed her brows again, there was a worry there, in his demeanor. There was more to this.

"Ok," Violet finally muttered before sitting back into the chair. "So since I know what's really going on now, can you give me the proper clearance to keep an eye on things?" Violet entreated. Phillip nodded and tapped on his desk that was integrated with his computer to give her the clearance.

"Thank you," Violet said with relief as her electronics dinged to let her know her change in status.

"Are you still angry with me?" Phillip inquired cautiously.

"Well I was put off by the fact that you shagged me under the pretense that I had finally earned your trust when we've been working together for a year and I've saved your life dozens times and saved your reputation and your ass countless times and with everything we've been through, you..." Violet paused mid rant as she felt her emotions begin to surge before she did her best to regain her composure.

"Never mind, thank you for your time Mr. Sebastian." Violet concluded.

"Wait," Phillip blurted as he hurried to stand. "I'm sorry, I know things got complicated between us and I'm sorry, you're right, I should have been trusting you and that shouldn't have been the basis for...what we did."

"Thank you," Violet replied, feeling validated.

"How about I take you out to dinner? We can start over," Phillip suggested.

"That sounds nice," Violet began. "But let's just hold off until my contract is up ok?" Violet counter offered.

"Deal, but I'm still taking you out to dinner," Phillip retorted playfully.

"Deal," Violet agreed, smiling and giving a nod before getting up and leaving his office knowing he was due for another meeting in only a few moments.

When she returned to her office she brought up the video feeds for both the medical sector and Buddy's lab to find him looking at her scans and discussing with Dr. Gjersoe something about them. She turned up the sound and listened in on the conversation.

"So what is the time laps between these two scans?" Buddy asked.

"Two months, but Ms. Parr had several assignments between the two where her powers were used extensively," Dr. Gjersoe explained.

"So the medicine that is being made for her now, does it slow down the progression?"

"Yes but not at a fast enough rate to counteract it entirely."

"I see," Buddy paused as he wrote something down on a notepad. "Has she experienced a change in her powers? Any new powers? Or a decrease in her current powers?" Buddy asked thoughtfully.

"Not that she's told me, but Ms. Parr is a difficult patient, it was hard enough just to get these scans. She answered questions vaguely at best." Dr. Gjersoe admitted.

"But she trusts Mr. Sebastian right? Is there any way we can convince him to ask her about it?"

"He already does and she hasn't said anything other than the headaches getting worse." Dr. Gjersoe answered.

"Are there any side effects of the medicine?" Buddy inquired.

"None that she's shone or will say," Dr. Gjersoe shrugged.

"But with that much of this compound, surely she must have _some_ kind side effect, like higher blood pressure or hot flashes or something," Buddy countered as he wrote more notes down.

"I would actually suspect something else entirely," Dr. Gjersoe argued.

"Like what?"

"This compound is mostly used in aphrodisiac- like drugs, I would think she would have an increase in _mood_," Dr. Gjersoe tried to politely convey.

"Oh," Buddy responded in surprise.

"But Supers often react to pharmaceutical compounds differently than others, perhaps it could have the opposite effect, like depression, loss of appetite, lethargy, that kind of thing," Dr. Gjersoe offered.

Violet sat back in her chair and thought it over, she was having emotional instability lately, the increase in the 'mood' that Gjersoe so tactfully put it was driving her insane, she had gone through more vibrators in the past few months than she ever thought she would use in a lifetime. She was buying batteries and lube in bulk at this point and she felt insatiable most days but there was no way she was going to tell anyone that. But it was something she could endure until Buddy found a cure.

A week later Violet was back in Buddy's lab going over purchase orders and engaging in surprisingly pleasant idle chit chat before the entire building went on lock down. Violet tried not to panic as she tried every door and every window to escape, she managed to contact Phillip who has been whisked off into his safe room but there is no one available to come and get her since the 'threat' had been determined to be a biochemical bomb that was detonated somewhere in the building. It was one of Violet's worse nightmares, this was something she couldn't fight or hide from. Despite the large size of Buddy's lab and living quarters, she felt confined and trapped.

"Stressed?" Buddy asked as he resigned himself to sitting on the couch in his lab since everything was on lock down while he watched Violet stalk the lab, looking for a way to escape.

"I'm just shocked is all, I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen, we usually receive some kind of warning before something like this happens." Violet muttered before climbing onto a counter and checking the ceiling tiles.

"Well this lab has it's own air circulation system, power supply and I have stockpiles of food and water that should last us at least three months so in all actuality, this is one of the safest places to be." Buddy offered, trying to be reassuring as he noted her increase in anxiety.

"I'm aware of the schematics of your lab, I'm just worried about everyone else," Violet answered from across the lab as she started to pace.

"I'm sure SEB industries has security measures in place for this kind of thing," Buddy pointed out.

"They do, I just never thought it would happen while I was here," Violet countered as she hugged her self for some kind of comfort.

"Because no one in their right mind would attack while a Super was on duty?" Buddy guessed as he went through his hand written notebooks, congratulating himself on still using these so he wouldn't be completely unproductive. He looked up to see Violet glaring at him. "Sorry," Buddy apologized.

"Actually we've had more threats since I started working here, it seems being a Super makes you more susceptible to attacks rather than warding them off," Violet admitted as she decided sitting down was better than pacing, choosing to sit at the other end of the long couch. At least it was a very comfortable couch, under any other circumstances she would have considered taking a nap.

"How long do you think we'll be under lock down?" Buddy wondered aloud as he leaned over to the mini fridge next to the couch to retrieve two bottles of water and offering her one.

"The last time something like this happened, I was stuck in my safe room for 4 days, but that was an accident in the lab where a virus got out. But this is different, so I don't know, at least a day or two," Violet recounted.

"Well I guess I could do worse for company," Buddy offered with a small smile. Violet smiled weakly back, still trying to get a grip on her emotions. Buddy had a point, there were only two or three other places in the building that were more secure than where she was.

"You don't have any books in here do you? Or cards or something?" Violet asked after a long moment of silence.

"I have medical reference books and operating manuals, nothing that I think you would enjoy reading," Buddy answered.

"Damn," Violet cursed under her breath. "Well what are you working on in your notebooks?" Violet asked.

"You," Buddy answered simply. "Your medical condition with your headaches, it's more complicated then I originally anticipated," Buddy explained.

"Why?" Violet asked suddenly compelled to lean over to him to see if he would show her. He turned toward her and lowered the book but the chances of her understanding anything he had written down was dismal since those particular pages were all mathematical formulas and that kind of math was never her strong suit.

"These are the formula's I've been using to see what strengths would be best to start the trials when the rest of the compounds come in." Buddy explained when he saw the blank expression on her face.

"Trials? I thought you told Phillip you would have the cure by next week," Violet argued with a pout.

"That was until I found out your rate of progression among other things, are you sure you don't have side effects with your current medication?" Buddy asked as he turned the page.

Violet shook her head no, despite her ears burning red, but her hair was down and she doubted Buddy could see them because there was no way in HELL she would tell him the truth. "It just takes the pain away, I mean it makes my head a little fuzzy, perhaps a little drowsy, the way a cold medicine would but that could come from my allergy medicine too so..." Violet trailed off, figuring that answer would satisfy him.

"You have allergies?" Buddy asked.

"Yeah, pollen, stuffs my nose right up," Violet admitted, grateful to turn the topic of conversation to something she felt more comfortable discussing.

"Me too," Buddy added with a thoughtful look.

Violet nodded before a horrible realization hit her, she only had two pills left, it would last her only another 4 hours.

"What?" Buddy asked when he saw her eyes become large and her breath stop in her throat.

"I only have two pills left," Violet whispered as she stared at the floor.

"Oh that shouldn't be a problem, I have enough of the compounds to make you more, but I don't have have a pill maker but I can make it into liquid that you can drink." Buddy offered.

Violet turned and was stunned, relieved yet worried all at the same time, if there was ever a time for him to kill her and make it look like an accident, it would be now.

"Ok," Violet agreed, fighting to keep her face neutral and not let it betray her feelings.

"Actually you're due for a dose aren't you?" Buddy inquired as he looked at his watch.

"Not for another hour," Violet answered as she looked at the time on her phone.

"Well that's more than enough time to make lunch," Buddy said as he got up from the couch.

"Wait, what?" Violet asked, doing a double take.

"What? I like to cook," Buddy defended.

"Like 'I know how to make ramen noodles and mac and cheese' kind of cook or 'Hannibal Lecter' kind of I like to cook'." Violet asked, her tone light enough to be mistaken for teasing.

Buddy gave her an unamused look before shaking his head and gesturing for her to follow him. "If you really must know, I'm more of a Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, kind of guy," Buddy admitted as he walked into the personal quarters section that was next to the lab.

Violet let out a quiet gasp as she hastily got up and followed him, her stomach suddenly growling.

"So you're an Iron Chef kind of guy," Violet mused once she entered his kitchen area and saw him digging through his refrigerator.

"Among other things," Buddy confirmed with a grin as he began cooking.

"Can I at least help?" Violet offered as she felt compelled to at least help in some way.

"Can you cut an onion?" Buddy asked as he handed it to her before gesturing to the wall where a cutting board and a set of knives secured on a magnetic strip on the wall.

Violet nodded and set about her task, trying to pretend that doing such a mundane task with her family's arch nemesis was normal for her.

"Wine?" Buddy offered as he opened a bottle and poured some in with the pork chops that were simmering in a pan.

"Sure," Violet agreed with a shrug, might as well, if she was going to die she might as well die buzzed. After a few glasses of wine and a very delicious lunch Violet started to relax despite the situation and she even started to minutely open up.

"So when are you done with SEB Industries?" Buddy asked as they sat back on the couch and opened another bottle of wine.

"Six months and fourteen days, then I get to retire," Violet answered as she held her glass out for another refill.

"I'm surprised you don't have the hours, minutes and seconds ticked out too," Buddy noted as he refilled her waiting glass before refilling his own.

"Oh I do," Violet supplied as she held out a display on her phone that showed a count down.

"So where are you going to retire to?" Buddy offhandedly asked as if she had told him before but he had trouble remembering.

"Somewhere with good sushi," Violet answered wistfully.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought you liked that kind of thing," Buddy countered.

"I didn't used to, it's not something I grew up eating but when I disappeared the first time I went to Japan. And I suppose it also helps if you have someone who knows how to make it correctly, and it's not about the fish really, I mean the quality of the fish is important but it's really all about the rice, if the rice is cooked and handled correctly, it's awesome." Violet explained animately.

Buddy couldn't help but smile, this side of Violet was just as fun as her jaded side. "So once you retire, no more Superhero work or security work or...?" Buddy trailed off.

"Nope, none. Once I'm done here, I'm out for good and I'll be damned if they are ever able to find me again." Violet vowed.

"You hate the industry that much?" Buddy inquired curiously.

"Yeah, I'm not a brainless minion that the 'Agency' can just throw at every problem it doesn't feel like fixing or every mess that it made and wants the damning evidence of a fuck up swept under a rug. I'm just done with all of it, I want to live a quiet, normal, boring existence where my life and safety isn't in jeopardy every minute of the god damn day." Violet ranted as she downed the rest of her wine.

"Sounds like you've seen your fair share of the field." Buddy remarked.

"More than I ever should have," Violet muttered resentfully. "So what about you? What are you going to do when you get out?" Violet asked, turning the conversation back on him."

"Oh you know, the usual things, build an empire, take over the world," Buddy sarcastically quipped then laughed as Violet rolled her eyes. "Actually since I started working here I got to design, engineer and build things again, it's been nice, I didn't realize how much I missed just getting lost in my work." Buddy admitted ruefully.

"Nerd," Violet scoffed under her breath.

"Loner," Buddy fired back teasingly.

"Damn straight," Violet confirmed with a smug smile as she set her empty wine glass on the coffee table before her eyebrows knit together.

"Your medicine wearing off?" Buddy guessed as he watched her closely.

"Yeah," Violet answered as she shut her eyes tight and pressed on her temples.

"Well hang on, it will just take a minute to make up that compound," Buddy placated as he placed a hand on her knee before getting up and going to his work station, quickly mixing the compounds into a beaker before coming back. "I'm sorry I should have made it sooner," Buddy apologized as he handed it to her.  
"Thank you," Violet said as she knocked it back in a single gulp and grimaced.

"Sorry, I didn't think to add a flavoring," Buddy apologized again.

"It's ok," Violet squeaked out before clamping her hands over her mouth as her stomach started to reject the medicine.

"Do you need to..." Buddy started to say before Violet bolted up from the couch and ran to the bathroom before throwing everything up.

"Damnit," Violet cursed in between heaves, this was going to be hell.

After trying to clean herself off and regain her composure, her headache intensified. 'This can't get any worse,' Violet thought to herself as she left the bathroom and found Buddy back at the mixing counter trying to make another one.  
"So it turns out that there's an ingredient I don't have..." Buddy stated hesitation.

"What is that?" Violet growled.

"I didn't realize the pills you take are coated in a strong anti-nausea medicine, because I take it you don't throw up the pills," Buddy started.

"You're kidding right?" Violet groaned.

"Yeah I don't have any of the anti-nausea compound, but there is a way around it," Buddy carefully offered. "I could always inject it straight into your veins,"

"Fuck. No." Violet hissed.

"Well you can stick yourself if you want and fill the syringe yourself but you need this medicine one way or another, this level of pain will drive you insane," Buddy argued as he crossed his arms over his chest and held her pointed gaze as they stared each other down. Violet knew he was right but didn't want to admit it, and she figured she only had a few hours of endurance left before she would want to hit herself in the head with a brick.

"Fine," Violet conceded as she took off her cardigan to reveal a tank top so she could bare her arms.

"Do you want to fill the syringe yourself?" Buddy offered as he pulled one from a drawer and offered it to her.

"No, I hate needles, I hope you're good at finding veins," Violet muttered.

Buddy nodded and prepared the needle before taking off his belt.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" Violet demanded as she took a step back.  
"I need something to tie around your arm," Buddy explained as he took a step toward her again. "I don't want to hurt you, I want to help, I promise," Buddy softly assured her.

Violet looked from his eyes to the belt and syringe then back up to his eyes before nodding and sitting on a nearby stool.

She took a shaky breath as Buddy looped his belt around her arm and cinched it tight before handing her the remainder to keep taut so he could inject the serum more easily into her arm. He used rubbing alcohol to disinfect her skin before taking a deep calming breath himself.

"Ready?" He asked.  
"Nope but I don't have much of a choice," Violet bit out, her headache getting worse by the minute causing her to clench her jaw and breathe heavily through her nose.

"Try to relax," Buddy cautioned before feeling around and finding a good vein in the crook of her elbow. "Ok, that one should work," Buddy breathed as he grabbed the needle and positioned it into place. "On three, one...two...three," Buddy prompted before gently inserting the needle and finding the vein. 'Thank god, beginners luck,' Buddy thought, relieved he got it. He steadily pushed the medicine into her vein and watched as her face relaxed from a grimace and she breathed out from her mouth a breath of relief. Once the syringe was empty he pulled it out and away, immediately placing a cotton ball in it's place. Then he watched as her pupils began to dilate while her irises glowed iridescent violet as her eyes opened and locked onto his.

"Does that happen normally? With your eyes?" Buddy specified as he gestured to her leaning in closer to really get a good look. But she didn't answer, she just kept staring. At first Buddy was puzzled with the look she was giving him until the conversation with the good doctor came to mind then realization hit him.  
"Uhh," Buddy stammered, not quite sure of what would happen next before Violet seemed to gain some control of herself.  
"I need a shower." Violet whispered before getting off the stool and going to the bathroom, turning the music of her phone on as loud as it could go before utilizing Buddy's shower head and finding sweet relief for her immediate urges.


End file.
